'When the fun stops, stop' is a campaign for The Senet Group aimed at encouraging responsible gambling. Every gambler bets differently, according to personality type, situation and sport, but ethnographic research that we carried out identified that every gambler can identify with an emotional turning point, when the fun disappears from the pursuit and the next bet becomes a “bad betty”. Our campaign, developed in collaboration with Coral, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, William Hill and Gamble Aware, used this unifying insight to develop two striking TV ads that highlight the risks of fixed-odds betting terminals and online gambling, using a remixed version of the 1970’s hit ‘Black Betty’ by Ram Jam... ‘Bad Betty’. Digital, press, POS and the campaign site integrate the campaign across channels.

The results

Now in its fourth year, the campaign is proving to be hugely successful, with research showing

• It’s helped over a third of regular gamblers control their gambling.
• More than two million people have directly quoted ‘when the fun stops, stop’. 
• Over a fifth say it has “Led me to warn other people about their gambling, if only jokingly”. 
• 18% of all adults who recognise the campaign say it “Has helped me approach gambling more responsibly” - equivalent to 5.4 million people.  

As gambling industry magazine ‘Betting Business’ begrudgingly put it: “The most surprising thing about the UK’s socially responsible gambling campaign, is that it is actually quite good.”